Answer also available in:
Español
Short answer
People who have continuously lived on the land and legally own it are not colonizers. Also, most Jews are not even of European descent—the majority of Jews who live in Israel have Middle Eastern, North African, and Asian ancestry.
Long answer
Jews have continuously lived in the land of Israel for thousands of years. There is concrete evidence of a Jewish presence in the land of Israel dating back thousands of years, including coins with Hebrew inscriptions, ancient Jewish texts, and synagogues. Jews have always resided in the land of Israel both as sovereign kingdoms and under foreign occupation, including occupation by Arabs. Unfortunately, most Jews were expelled from the land of Israel over 2,000 years ago. In modern history, there is evidence that Jews were the majority in the Ottoman province of Palestine, almost up to the time of the British Mandate when a multitude of Arabs came to the Mandate of Palestine from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. And while most local Arabs were tenant farmers, the Jews were mostly landowners. Also, most Jews are not even of European descent—the majority of Jews who live in Israel have Middle Eastern, North African, and Asian ancestry.
